The security of a parking location is often a concern of a driver. The ability to detect vandalism or theft is thus of utmost concern when implementing parking management solutions.
Automobile theft detection and prevention is currently accomplished in a number of ways. For example, theft prevention systems can be installed in vehicles. The development of a vehicle security system for protecting a vehicle from theft while the vehicle is unattended in a parking position is typically the vehicle manufacturer's responsibility. Vehicle manufacturers' solutions typically involve adding hardware or a software component to the vehicle. As this increases the cost of the vehicle, not every vehicle is equipped with such a system.
Another solution involves simply parking in a secured location and asking someone to watch or attend to the vehicle. Access to information that shows which parking locations are safer than others, however, is not always available. Therefore, finding a secure site in which to park is not always possible and finding someone to watch a car is not necessarily cost effective based on the location, time of day, and length of time parked. This is particularly true when the parking location is on-street or curbside.